This month, the city’s dining scene welcomes exciting new additions alongside an unexpected return. Honest Pizza is back with its New York-style pies, much to the delight of its fans, while Asian noodle favorites like pho and udon find new homes.
For a cosy evening, there’s a new independent bar in a lovely part of town that serves up inventive cocktails by mixologists with a good track record.
[See more: The 25th Macao Food Festival will take place from 14 to 30 November]
Read on for our list of new restaurants and bars to visit in Macao this month.
Pho Hanoi Macau
A menu doesn’t need endless choices. Focusing on a few signature dishes can be just as impressive. That’s exactly the philosophy behind Pho Hanoi Macau (see featured image above). Officially opened in August, this Vietnamese restaurant specialises in northern-style pho from Hanoi.
The owner’s wife, a passionate Vietnamese cook, once prepared a meal for friends and colleagues that was so well received, they encouraged the couple to open their own restaurant. The noodle offerings are refreshingly simple: Beef pho, Chicken pho, and Hanoi-style grilled pork vermicelli. For the beef pho, diners can choose from various cuts including brisket, rare beef, and fatty brisket.
[See more: The 25th Macao Food Festival will take place from 14 to 30 November]
The broth is a labour of love, made fresh daily and simmered for over ten hours to achieve its rich depth. Beyond noodles, Pho the restaurant also serves Vietnamese sizzling skillet bread, Hanoi-style baguettes, and sizzling pancakes, all brimming with authentic flavor. And of course, no visit is complete without a cup of Vietnamese coffee.
Udon Higashiruma
Japan’s passion for noodles goes well beyond ramen. Udon, a dish featuring thick, chewy wheat noodles served in a savoury broth or chilled with a dipping sauce, stands as another national treasure that has won countless fans everywhere.
If you’re one of them, head over to Lisboeta Macau, where Udon Higashiruma dishes out this favourite – freshly made by hand every day – alongside a selection of other beloved Japanese specialties, all set within a space that invites you to cosy up amid understated Japanese aesthetics.
[See more: New places to eat and drink in Macao this September]
For a leisurely meal, we recommend the kanto-style sukiyaki set, a hot pot dish featuring M7 wagyu and two Japanese eggs. If you’re after something quicker, try the nabeyaki udon, which combines udon with shrimp and chicken tempura over soft noodles, or sink your teeth into their curry rice options. These include the classic tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet), and burger for a twist.
Whatever you choose, especially if you’re not one to count calories, don’t miss the deep-fried chicken skin served with seaweed-topped mayo as a pre udon snack, as well as the milk pudding or the soufflé cake, essentially a milk cake roll.
Ren at Rio Hotel
Tucked discretely away on the third floor of the Rio Hotel is Ren (蓮), an omakase restaurant that opened just this summer. The restaurant’s Chinese name means “Lotus”, and is a nod to its Macao owners and how the sushi is prepared by local chefs. As it is an omakase restaurant, there is no set menu and courses change almost daily depending on what is in season and in stock. What is consistent however, is their distinctly salty and sour sushi rice.
[See more: Sushi master Miyakawa has ‘brought Japan to Macao’]
Currently, their standout seasonal offering is the female snow crab, served generously in a sauce made from crab roe. Ren also offers creative takes on classic small plates such as fish tempura. Instead of using a traditional dipping sauce typically made with ingredients like dashi and daikon, the chefs here use shirako (cod milt) to create the accompanying sauce.
The spacious, minimalist restaurant seats only 11 people so booking is essential. Lunch sessions are 15 courses and cost 688 patacas per person, while dinner costs 1,680 patacas for 18 courses and 1,980 patacas for 20 courses.
Honest Pizza
Remember Honest Pizza? After a hiatus that lasted over a year, this beloved New York-style pizza spot is back, much to the delight of its loyal customers. Not much has changed; the owner, concept, and menu remain the same.
Honest now takes up an unassuming, narrow shop in the Nam Sun area of Taipa, near the Kafka café. You’ll fill the aroma of freshly baked pizza wafting through the air before you can see the shop. Here, the chefs craft crispy crusts and soft interior pies, with gooey mozzarella and various toppings.
Pizzas are available at 9, 14, and 18 inches, featuring options from truffle steak and Philly cheesesteak (two of Honest’s signature pies) to classics like pepperoni and their version of Hawaiian. Indulgent snacks like truffle fries and buffalo wings also make an appearance on the menu.
Order for delivery or stop by to pick up your pizza for a 10 percent discount. If you’re in a hurry, grab a slice to enjoy on the go!
Kaimu
Located near Cinema Alegria, in a part of town that’s as authentic as it is photogenic, Kaimu is a new neighbourhood bar run by two bartenders previously behind the counter at W Hotel’s Blind Tiger. This little gem focuses on simplicity, featuring a menu of seven signature cocktails, soothing interiors, and thoughtfully curated playlists that vary significantly depending on the night.
Named after a song by the Japanese band One OK Rock, you might just as likely hear Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon while you’re there, as we have. It’s open from 4 PM to midnight so it can be an easy, go-to neighbourhood hangout, perfect for a pre- or post-dinner drink.
[See more: Hong Kong’s Bar Leone tops the World’s 50 Best Bars list]
The cocktail menu highlights fruits and smart combinations, with some drinks appealing more to the palate and others to the nose. We tried the apple cocktail, a delightful mix of Irish whiskey and PX sherry, infused with puff pastry. It’s evocative of a fresh apple pie, topped with hefty, silky vanilla foam. Another cocktail uses dark rum, coffee and mascarpone cheese, for a tasty take on tiramisu.
Classic cocktails are also available upon request, should you fancy one.
–With reporting by Sara Santos Silva, Don Lei and Weng-U Pun
